Subject of CL story sues developer

Linda Hinesman, a resident of Lynwood Park, a gentrifying neighborhood north of Brookhaven where tiny shotgun bungalows sit beside tony two-story homes, is suing a developer over an alleged land encroachment.

Hinesman’s suit, filed in late August by attorney Greg Taube in DeKalb County Superior Court, claims her next-door neighbor and the developer who constructed her home built a garage partially on her property and tore down one of her trees. A CL story published July 1 described Hinesman’s claim that she couldn’t open her kitchen door because of her neighbor’s newly erected privacy fence.

The complaint alleges that Brendan Murphy, president of Chesapeake Development, overstepped the property line onto the land of Hinesman, one of dozens of decades-long, African-American residents of Lynwood Park.

“The case is going to come down to testimony from the surveyors,” Taube says. “But the garage looks like it’s sitting in Ms. Hinesman’s back yard.”

Yet one surveyor found that Murphy’s construction was completely legit.

Murphy’s attorney, Sean Hynes, filed an answer to the complaint Sept. 29, which claims the alleged offenses cited in Hinesman’s suit are baseless.

“The Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to state a claim against these Defendants upon which relief can be granted,” the court document says.

Hynes was unavailable for comment. Taube says Hinesman’s neighbor and her lawyer have asked for an extension to review the complaint.